I am headnig to bed, but you can sure have a swivel on this setup and just wire it to the anchor point. What the coon does with the swivel and snare after he is caught is not your problem. I am thinking you should be able to use kill poles in SD without violating any law. I just don't use tie wire because I want tied off with snare cable. If I was in SD I would use swivels to comply, and would tie off with strong wire to the pole.

I am a loop on the anchor end guy too Tex. I can't se putting in a weaker wire to hold a good snare. I do not use swivels so only know to tie them off with wire.

So you are putting the swivel over the top of the rod? Looking at the photo of my rod it is above the anchor point? I think I know what you are talking about but want to be sure. I am imagining a snare with a loop on the end for anchoring and a swivel somewhere in the middle or near the loop. Is that correct?

Tex I have not messed with moving my deer stops so have no expereince with it. Are all your incidental fox alive with that setup?

Another question. In slipping the swivel over the top what prevents this from coming off the top. I like the idea of running the swivel through the anchor and slipping on the top but I just read the regs and they say the swivel must operate freely when set. Wiring it to the anchor sounds good as does putting it over the top to act like another swivel if I can find out how to keep it from coming off.

I take it entanglement is the main reason for using this setup. If it is, wiring it to the bar at the anchor would let the swivel work when set but the anchor would stop the swivel when the coon starting spinning thus letting the rig do it's job. I believe this would work and also be legal.

I like the entanglement, some do not. I also like the way this puts my snare up where I want it (from above) as opposed to the side, and holds it there solid as a rock. I prefer kill poles over normal staked down rigs.

what if u wrap ur #9 wire around the stake, just below the washer then bend the rest of the wire in a u and shove the stake and wire in the ground. then take the other end of the # 9 wire, "the support" and bend a u in it and lay ur cable in that, and sinch it down tight. would that work? then pound a nother stake in the ground for the anchor.

slackjaw no matter how you attach or drive the support wire in just make sure it is solid. Won't sway back and forth etc. Some soils this isn't hard to do, other soils it is real hard to do.

As far as using a U shape to hold your snare up, you will be better off attaching the snare to the support wire solid. Whammies, plastic tubing are the most common way. Another thing you can do, is just carry a roll of black electricians tape in your pocket. Wrap it around the snare and support wire just above the lock, and in no time at all, you have a solid snare. Maybe not as good as a whammy, but plenty solid when you are just snaring on ground where you are not trying to position the snare to compensate for a slope. I always have a roll of tape in my pocket. I make my own snares and once in a while I start making a set and see that I forgot to put a whammy on during my snare manufacturing. So I just tape it right to the support rather than walk back to the truck and get another one.

If you already have snares that have no whammy on them, just use that method and you will do well. Another thing I use is just a plain old nut that would thread on to a bolt. Get one about the size of a whammy and put it in place of the whammy while making snares. It will lock the snare onto the support wire as well as a whammy does if you have the right size.

D as far as snaring being for the birds, you are missing the boat, and I feel sorry for you. I also use steel traps and connibears, and snares are the most pet friendly tool that we have. All the hype surrounding snaring is just that, and I have to be very careful where I use 220's here in pheasant hunting country. Snares I can put anywhere, and the hunter just lets his dog loose.

220's are for road ditches on highways. Hunters will not let thier dogs run free there.

Snaring for the birds steel traps and connibears all the way unless snares is all you can use then I feel sorry for you.

LOL!!

Yep, I guess you have a point. I mean snares don't freeze up, they take less than 10 seconds to set, cost less than 75 cents to make, no different than a leash on a non-target. Work no matter the wind direction. High water doesn't effect them. Heck they even work in a drought.

Nice download of info there, thanks Tex. You are right the plastics do stiffen up in colder weather however I will continue to carry my tape, as it has saved me many a walk back to the truck.

I see your point on the kill pole. Duh so simple it should have jumped up and bitten me.

I figure fur damage from snaring this way. I am working and getting better at neck snaring coon, zero fur damage. In the meantime my snared coon tend to be bigger coon, so my buyer has commented in the past that he is not docking the snare damage. The biggest thing to me, is that I have no worries about bird dogs like I would with my 220's, so I would prefer the snare in many locations or would go to a dog proof setup otherwise.

They hold MUCH more solid to the support than the plastic, and they can be used over and over. Lets see someone be able to consistantly tilt the snare to keep it at 90* to the surface of the trail with any other style support other than tape. I've never seen a better way. I'm talking size specific wammys 3/32+9ga. in most of my set ups. Not them junky cone shaped spring metal wammys...

Here's my kill pole set up....

Quote:

Here's my kill-pole set up for raccoon snaring...

I use 4' of 1/2" rebar for the pole, I weld a 1/2" nut just down from the top and a short length of 9ga. wire for the support. I also weld a short cross piece of 3/8 rod to aid in the entanglement. The snares I use are custom made for me by ProSnares, they are 36" of 5/64 cable loaded fast with BMI mini locks, in-line swivel to aid in how the loop hangs as well as a good 5/64+9ga wammy. I use three colors of camo paint to ensure they blend in well in the grasses where I use them.

You can see from the picture how the snare simply slides onto the top of the pole as an attachment....

You simply form a 7" loop and push the wammy onto the #9 wire to hold the snare in place VERY solid. Next just push the pole in the ground next to the coon trail so the loop hangs 7-8" off the surface of the trail to the bottom of the loop and centered on the trail.

results...

Here is another look or two at the pole as well...

Hope that's all clear.

That bieng said, I will not be using it much in coming seasons, reason bieng is the locations where I like to snare are prone to theft and killpoles aren't cheap as my regular set up. I also don't like them coons wrapped up tight and alive as can happen on these poles if you don't get a neck catch, reason bieng is I run so many snares that it may be after noon before I can get to all the sets and I get chew outs, even with 3/32 cable.

The set up I really like and will stick with is very simple yet very effective and I have not been docked by my buyer for a mark left by the snare when using this method... ever! Plus I almost only catch big coons 2x or bigger and no skunks or possums. Try that with a body gripper. LOL

For coon and fox…

I use 48" of 7x7 3/32 cable, good washer locks, a metal whammy, deer stop, and a 9ga swivel at the end. This combination of a big smooth lock that won't dig into the fur and larger 3/32 cable leaves no damage to the pelt. I use a piece of #9 wire for a support and a 24" long 1/2" washer top rebar stake. The way I set them for coons and fox is I put the snare on the stake with my #9 wire “pigtailed” on the stake. I pound the stake in the ground right beside the trail. Then I make a 7-8" loop from the snare and push the whammy up to the lock then on to the #9 support. I then lift the loop to 6-7" off the ground to avoid skunks opossums and little coons. I place the loop directly over the center of the trail. I try to set where the trail is naturally narrowed down and I use very little if any blocking or guiding. I also prefer there to be nothing as far as entanglement but if there is a short log or rock or something they can reach after being caught they tend to concentrate on it and not on chewing the snare. If I find the snare knocked down the next day I raise it 2" cause 9 times out of 10 it is a extra large coon or fox and you'll most often have them the next day.

Also as soon as the coon is dispatched, I cut the snare off, then pull and stretch and rub the area of the fur where the snare was. This will greatly reduce the "snare marks".

As far as locations, STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER! The big coons travel the high ground much more than down near the water. You'll get many more little dinks in water that you just as well let grow until they are worth something. I look for trails along hilltops, through dry culverts, and high on the creek banks. Coons in more open areas use landmarks alot. If you see a lone tree, telephone pole, big fence post, etc... Always look for a trail past them.

Here’s the pigtail (I weld them on the stake now-a-days)…

Here’s the wammy/lock…

The whole set up…

This method is for live catch snaring, which is recommended in Iowa for fox and coon. Here's why...It is very difficult to neck snare coons so in order to make maximum catch numbers you should just target the body catches which are much easier and use the right snares to virtually eliminate snare damage to the coons. As for fox, due to the regulations stating that all snares must have deer stops that won't allow the loops to close smaller than 2 1/2" in diameter, you can't kill fox with the snares because that big of a loop won't asphyxiate them unless you limit your sets to locations where they will tangle up and actually hang themselves.

Really? Are you talking coon Jamie? This has not been my experience. I know at times we have bought cable from the same place, so it can't be that. You got me scratching my head.

"As far as locations, STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER! The big coons travel the high ground much more than down near the water. You'll get many more little dinks in water that you just as well let grow until they are worth something."

I used to believe this too, as strongly as you, but I have been catching some mighty big coon in the water. I think your "show coon" last fall was in the water too? I have changed my mind about the dinks. After talking with some pretty serious coon killers over the years, I have decided that it is to our advantage to get these small coon out of the breeding pool. I have had too many very experienced, hard running coon guys tell me this to not believe it. On average, you will ctahc more big coon on dry land, but you will drive by many many coon in the water that could have ended up in the back of your truck. At $3 per gallon gas, and with a carcass market that pays my gas bill, I can't drive by them.

"I have not been docked by my buyer for a mark left by the snare when using this method..."

We have the same buyer, he does not dock for snare damage, or if he does it is without our knowledge. I can make the same statement with any coon snaring method. I am not arguing, but take your coons to some buyer who is grading hard and is against snaring, and I have seen a few. He will dock you no matter what you do. We are blessed with a snare friendly buyer Jamie.

I am not a fur buyer, but I promise you if you lay down five trapped coon and five shoulder/hip caught coon, I can pick them out most of the time. Even if youare picking out the snare mark while they are warm, I can still find it as can most experienced guys such as yourself. Plus, our buyer is usually getting your carcasses. So he is factoring in couple bucks per critter in your average into his own pocket. Not much when someone only brings in one, but starts to add up if you are bringing in 10 a day.

The reason I am bringing this up, is not to argue, but to point out that those others reading in may not have a snare friendly buyer, and will get a shock when they bring them snared coon.

I have met buyers who have told me they hate snares, and that they don't want them (snared coon) even brought in. Come to think of it, most of those guys are no longer in business.

Well boys, keep it up. I'm learning more here than on most videos and books I buy. As I said before I just started using snares last year. Thus far they have worked well. I like being able to hang 7 or 8 on a couple heavily traveled trails by a grove and come back to 2 or 3 coon. The reason I went to snares and have so many questions is where i'm at, unless I'm trapping water the coon don't seem to hit alot of bait because of the amount of corn that is around. With snares last year being my first year with snares I still caught more coon with snares than with traps. Most of that comes from being able to go to a spot, load the heck out of it with snares, and be out in less time then it takes to make 5 sets. Again thanks for all the info.

Really? Are you talking coon Jamie? This has not been my experience. I know at times we have bought cable from the same place, so it can't be that. You got me scratching my head.

Yep. If they get tangleed up tight (ie. my swivel fails and it does sometimes) I loose 3-10 coon/year to chew outs. However since I switched to all 9 ga. swivels, welded pigtail supports and added a "toy" at as many sets as possible that 3-10 is down from 15-25 in years past. Like I said it is sometimes 3pm before I can get to every set, especially on days when I'm moving sets and running foot traps in the water. Which brings up the "stay away from water" comment. That is just what I say to avoid dinks, there are big coons in water (31+lber last season, correct) but there are alot of dinks in there too. Personally I'd think we are better off to let them grow til next season or two, that is if they are small due to bieng young and not runts I guess. lol

AS for our buyer, we are blessed, you're correct. However I used to sell to a different buyer or three and still didn't get docked, they complained, lol, but I still got the same as the next guy with all conibeared coons. I think the buyers appreciate getting all 2x or bigger coons too, they make more on them right?